Tendons and ligaments are two of several types of connective tissues found in vertebrate organisms. Tendons are bands of fibrous tissue that connect muscles to bones. Ligaments are bands or sheets of fibrous tissue that connect bones or cartilages to one another at a joint or that support an organ. Tendons are essential to joint movement, being present throughout the body, and being particularly numerous throughout the forearm, hand, ankle, and foot.
Tendons and ligaments are susceptible to a variety of injuries, ranging from tears to complete severance. For example, because they usually are superficial in location, tendons often are injured by penetrating injuries, such as lacerations.
Unfortunately, tendon and ligament injuries may be difficult to repair, for a variety of reasons. For example, the ends of torn connective tissue tend to pull apart significantly after injury, making it unlikely that the injury will heal without surgery to hold the torn ends together. For this reason, tendons often are repaired by pulling the ends of the severed tendon into contact and then stitching them together. Unfortunately, as the repaired tendon heals, the point of reattachment may exhibit adhesion, that is, the abnormal development of new tissue joining the tendon to the surrounding tendon sheath. Adhesion may be reduced by early passive or active movement of the affected joint. Yet, damaged tendons require more force to move after surgery than undamaged tendons, putting additional stress on the sutures used to repair the tendon, frequently resulting in rupture of the tendon before it can heal. Surgeons therefore are encouraged to utilize increasingly complex multistrand repairs, resulting in increased operative time, increased foreign body suture material, and increased handling and manipulation of the tendon. While such procedures enhance the strength of the repair, they also enhance the likelihood of adhesion by the presence of the suture material and/or multiple or large suture knots, and by any rough handling of the involved tissues.
Thus, there is a need for a new system for repairing connective tissue, such as tendons and ligaments, that allows their quick and reproducible repair, while leaving the repaired tissue sufficiently strong to permit early range of motion of the involved joint.